Shadow's One Shot
by Autumn Nocturne
Summary: Amy has completely devoted herself to saving Shadow from the fierce grip of Dr. Robotnik, going so far as to actually work for the evil genius himself, only to be closer to Shadow... Full Summary Inside.


Shadow's One Shot

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Summary

Amy has completely devoted herself to saving Shadow from the fierce grip of Dr. Robotnik, going so far as to actually work for the evil genius himself, only to be closer to Shadow. But after being starved of freedom for so long, Shadow finds it too difficult to leave his corrupted world with the doctor, even with Amy's help. Now, after a long debated decision, Amy has once again returned to work with Robotnik, and to try one last time to show Shadow true release, and possibly, gain the same for herself.

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Shadow

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Thought. Careful consideration and the amazing ability to weigh your options. It's a gift, oddly enough, given to those who were born, and not created.

Instead, I, much like a robot, am given orders to carry out, without thought. Here I stand in a chrome coated hallway, waiting for my master's approval, and perhaps, another meaningless mission.

As much as one would like to believe, no, I cannot think for myself. I am not allowed to. Doing so would drive me off course, leading me straight to the path of destruction and loss. I've been down that road before, and I'm scared of going down again. Being lonely and helpless is something I can live with… I have for over 50 years. But being without hope would slowly but surely drive me insane.

Heels click against chrome tiles far away, but their echo lingers around my sensitive ears. Like a trained puppy, I wait. Small voices inside of me yell demands to run, and an overwhelming urge to listen to those voices gives me a slight headache. But the fear holds me back… The fear of venturing into the unknown… and well-known.

"Shadow! What is wrong with you?" A stern voice questions sharply. Instantly, my back straightens. My legs press together and massaging fingers leave my aching temples to slap my thighs. I look up, alert, and at the same time confused. How could one voice have such power over me? Like a quick slap in the face, I am instantly at attention. Like a soldier and his commander.

"Nothing at all, sir." I lie, keeping my head up and facial features locked expressionless.

"Good, because you will need your senses sharp for where you have to go next."

I grimace. I already know what he is going to tell me, or the objective, at least.

How right I was. The doctor drones on for nearly ten minutes about useless information. Bullets, lasers, robots, guns… Ah yes, the usual. Nothing I am even concerned about. My mind zones out to the same subject as before. He's holding me down; keeping me prisoner.

And I'm wondering what it would be like to be free.

The small voices rise up once more, and my attempts to quiet or push them away are no good.

_Run. Leave. Fight._

Should I?

"Are you even listening to me, Shadow?" He asks sharply, almost in a tone that mocks me. "We don't want a repeat of what happened last time, do we?"

I shudder slightly as my mind flashes those disturbing images of my last punishment for "misbehavior". Like glue, it sticks to my memory, forcing me to sit when I'm told, speak, jump, and even dance for the Doctor, because that is my duty. Because I don't want to relive any aspects of the past… or so I've been told.

"Glad you're at full attention. However, be grateful that I will have you well equipped for your next assignment."

I nod patiently, my eyes wide with anticipation.

"As you know, we already have the chaos emeralds." He smiles down at me, but not in a loving way, more as a snicker; a cruel smirk of satisfaction in a low slave. He knows who delivered him those emeralds, and he would be no where without me, and me alone…right?

His monotone voice once again interrupts my thoughts.

"…So I now need the equipment to use them. GUN seems to be holding this top secret piece, and I need you to fetch it for me."

_Fetch. As if it were a game…_

"But Doctor, Master, I don't understand. Why can you not hack into their base and steal the blueprints for this machinery?" I question, not fully understanding his motives for this one.

"Hahaha!" He laughs the sound bouncing off the walls and booming inside my ears. "Quite the curious one! You see Shadow, this object is not on file! It is too secret to risk access to other geniuses such as myself." He grins a cocky smile. "That is where you are needed. Your objective is to find this 'generator', and bring it to me."

I raise an eyebrow, wondering if he's gone mad.

"You will understand better Shadow, once you read up on it yourself."

He hands me a manila file filled with paper inside.

"Do your research." He suggests before turning to leave. "It might help you this time."

-

I sit at the foot of a bed I never use, focusing a dusty desk lamp on the thick stack of papers. I have two weeks to prepare, and with nothing else to do, I decide that doing research actually might be the best idea.

But research has not been on my list of favorite pastimes. If I had a list, thinking might be considered for the top spot. I close the folder and toss it on the steel desk a few feet away. It lands with a smack, emitting a cloud of dust.

'_When was the last time I've been in here?_' I wonder to myself. A room, a cell, a dorm, whatever you'd like to call it, this was my "free space" so to speak, disregarding the small camera in the top corner. I never liked it in here… still don't. My life is my job- My obligation to my one and only master. I lock up painful memories in the back of my mind so that when I think about him, Dr. Gerald Robotnic, I think of a great man… an inspirational leader in my life.

I take a look around. Would such a leader keep me inside these steel walls?

No wonder I don't spend time in here… this place makes me **really** think.

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Amy

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"_Traitor!" he bellows, his brows furrowed together and his teeth clenched. "You liar! You deceitful bitch!"_

_I fight back tears, idiotically waving my hands in front of my face, and planting my knees on the floor. "Doctor!" I cry, becoming more flustered by the second of what is soon to happen to me. "Not all is as it appears to be! Please, I beg of you, just listen to me!"_

_He crosses his arms and screams even louder. "You will be silenced!" he booms, throwing a threatening finger my way. "You have conspired against me, and I will not stand for that!" He taps his foot once and it's an instant shutdown. Much like a judge's hammer, I have been tried and convicted. There is nothing more I can do._

_I let my head fall. I have failed, and only he knows what is to become of me. More time in solitary confinement will surely drive me mad. I bite my bottom lip. The thought of it already is._

_He continues to stare at me…I can feel it. I don't dare look up, but only cower in his godly presence._

"_This is not the first time you have failed me, Agent Amy." He informs me._

_I merely nod, avoiding eye contact at all costs._

"_You continue to disappoint me. Why?"_

_I lace my fingers together as I search my mind for a valid answer. So desperately I want to yell that I am innocent, but my notion will not be heard, or "tolerated". I sigh. _

"_I do not know why I fail you, Doctor." I answer glumly, making my "sadness" evident in my tone. "But I want nothing more than to make it up to you."_

_A small growl escapes his throat. "You have already taken two chances."_

_Adrenaline courses through me as I think about how I cannot take any more time in a 5x5 stone cell. I literally throw my head up and wail._

"_But Doctor, surely I can prove to you my incompetence is merely an illusion! I do not wish to disobey you, but have for all the wrong reasons."_

_I fall to the floor dramatically, banging my fists on the hard metal that only bruise my hands and make me cry louder. "Please, please! Do not lock me up again!"_

_I can feel him smiling, and my stomach turns. A small groan is my answer, accompanied by words that are anything but assuring._

"_We shall see."_

_His heels click as he walks away, leaving me alone in the hallway with no other living presence. Hope is lost inside of me, and I have no intentions of picking myself up from the cold floor. _

_-_

'Why am I putting myself through this?' I ask myself, pulling my knees to my chest in an attempt to keep warm in a rather cold cell. 'Why do I continue trying to save him?'

…If only I had the answer.

I _would _tell myself that he is not worth it, but when I search my heart, I know that he truly is. And this latest mission? It doesn't prove my feelings false- it strengthens them.

"If only he were to remember," I whisper to myself, stuffing my cold, running nose between my knees. "If only I could stop this doctor from hurting him…" I glance up with my eyes, keeping my warming pose and eyeing the small, barred window at the top of the wall. I watch as a cold breeze sweeps in light flakes of snow, and rattles the thin icicles that line the edge of my small opening.

"…If only… If only I could somehow reach him…Shadow…" A shiver runs down my spine, chilling me as I practically jump and squeeze myself into an even tighter ball.

"Perhaps if I proved to the doctor that I was strong… my last two missions were beyond my control; he has to know that I am better than that."

I sigh, closing my eyes and rocking my body back and forth, shaking off the desire to sleep. My mind wanders, forming more questions that lead to dangerous subjects; but what better time is there than now to contemplate my actions? Stuck in a small cell quite like a miniature freezer, I figure there is none.

But then, I think about him all over again. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Shadow… I only work for that horrid doctor because I love him. I remember the day I had come to Robotnik, declaring my complete and total service to him all so that I could watch out and care for the black and red hedgehog next to me. It didn't matter to me that I would be working for the wrong side; that I would be shedding my heroine image for a more darker one. I did it because I _really_ knew what was happening with Shadow, and I knew he secretly longed for release.

But now, things have taken a turn for the worse. I gave Shadow everything I had, but it didn't seem to be enough. Even now, as I think of that moment two months ago, when the door was open, and no one was stopping him… he wouldn't leave. No, I had single-handedly arranged **everything** so that he could free himself from the doctors hold. As I squeeze my eyes tighter, I can more clearly envision his, just the way they were that perfect summer night: lost, confused, longing, and yet he couldn't seem to let go.

Now _I _sit here, freezing my fuzzy pink ass off because _he_ couldn't bring himself to leave. He returned here, to this ugly base, mission completed and back to his world of empty promises. I don't know what dialogue was exchanged between the Robotnik and him, but now his memory is gone again, or at least part of it. Each day the doctor becomes more and more familiar with chaos energy, and how to use it. I know he erased me from Shadow's memory, and that **kills **me inside.

After such a letdown as Shadow's I took my time returning here, questioning my one and only motive. Two months down the line, and I find I'm being punished. More shivers.

But I'm okay with this, because like the idiot I am, I'm willing to fight for another chance. When I returned and saw Shadow, I could tell he recognized me… I could tell. No chaos emerald or secret energy could tear that bond apart, I know so.

That's why I can't let go, and why I even refuse to. Sitting here really only makes me stronger. I know he'll remember. He'll realize his mistake; walk out the open door, and right behind him, I shall follow. He's **my** Shadow, and I know him better than any goddamned soul or machine on this planet…

I glance up at those bars once more…

And _he's _the reason why I am going to make it out of here…

* * *

I had this idea come to me out of the blue the other day. It kinda stunned me, and I **had** to put it on here. I love critiques, so if you can give me any, that'd be awesome. 


End file.
